Water-tower.



L. 11. GERDING.

WATER TOWER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1913.

1,]. 33,63 1 Patented Mar. 30, 1.915.

3 SHEETSSHEBT 1.

THE NORRIS PETERS CO.. PHOTO-LITHQ. WASHINGTON, D. C.

L. H. GERDING.

WATER TOWER. APPLICATION FILED JULY so, 1513.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

Inventor,-

Zomba/f. Gerdp'ng,

THE iVoRRIS PETERS CO PHOTO-undo WASHINGTON, D. C.

L. H. GERDING.

WATER TOWER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY '30, 1913.

1,133,631 Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIAVIIIIAZ IIIII'IIIIIIII THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHoTu-L/THO.. WASHINGTON, D. c.

LOUIS H. GERDING, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

WATER-TOWER.

Application filed July 30, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Louis H. Genome, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Water-Towers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to water tower apparatus for use in fire departments, and it consists in the features and combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a sectional view through the mast of the tower, with parts in side elevation; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view with parts removed of cable drum elevating and lowering means and the stand pipe, together with its swivel nozzle; Fig. lis a sectional view through the stand pipe of the apparatus with the swivel joint between the same and the main conveyer pipes of the tower; Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the upper part ofthe mast showing the gearing and the head or sleeve for turning the conveyer pipe which carries the nozzle; Fig. 6 is a view on the line 77 of F ig.'5 looking in the arrow direction; Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view showing the inner conveyer pipe in elevation and the outer conveyer pipe in section, and with the rope connections for sliding the outer conveyer pipe on the inner one and the means of mounting, together with a stuffing box arrangement; Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the member to which the raising and lowering cables are connected; Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the drums or reels for controlling the position of the nozzles through intermediate flexible connections.

It will be understood that the water tower is of portable character, though I have not thought it necessary to illustrate the carriage upon which it is mounted.

1 indicates the platform of the carriage on the under side of which the inlet pipe 2 is located having a stuffing box connection at 3 with the pipe 4: which leads the water to astand pipe 5 extending up from the platform and secured thereto in any suitable way. This stand pipe, as shown in Fig. 4, has branches 5, and at the upper ends of these branches inwardly curved nipples 6 are seated, and connected with these nipples are the lateral branches 7, 7 of a coupling member 8. r The branches 7 have their open- Specification of Letters Patent Patented Mar. 38*, 1915.

Serial no. 782,153.

ings flaring outwardly to fit upon the tapered ends of the nipples 6. The coupling member 8 can be turned about the tapered ends of the nipples 6, and in order to pack the joint I provide ribs on the lateral branches 7 and these ribs are embedded in Babbitt or other packing indicated at 9 and held by the stand pipe, and its cap 10, this cap or caps being suitably bolted in place, as indicated in Fig. 2. The coupling 8 has a flange to which is connected the flange of the inner conveyer pipe 11 which extends up within the mast indicated at 12. This mast has arms 13 at its lower end adapted to turn about journals, as at 14, which are axially in line with the axes of the nipples 6 and the lateral branches 7 of the coupling 8, so that the mast can be swung about the axial line of the pivotal connection formed as described above between the coupling 8 and the stand pipev 5, and in this swinging movement of course the conveyer pipe also swings.

The outside conveyer pipe 15 is mounted to slide on the inner pipe 11, and also to be rotated on said inner pipe. As shown in Fig. 7, the lower end of the outer pipe 15 is provided with a stuffing box screwed thereon and having a gland at 16 holding packing material 17 in place. A collar 18 is fixed to the outer pipe l5,'and adjacent this collar there is a second collar 19 which is fixed by a screw or pin 20 within a head or sleeve 21, shown in Fig. 8, and in section in Fig.

Between the collars l8 and 19 ball bearings 22 are arranged, the purpose being to allow the outer conveyer pipe 15, together with its collar 18, to be rotated in respect to the head 21 for the purposeof turning the nozzle into different lateral positions, it being observed that the nozzle shown at 23 is connected with the extreme upper end of the outer conveyer pipe 15. For raising and lowering the outer conveyer pipe, together with its nozzle, a hoisting cable 24 passes in loop form around a bearing rib 25, Fig. 8, mounted on the head 21, the strands of this hoisting cable passing upwardly along the mast over pulleys 26 and thence over guide pulleys 27 to drums 28 mounted on the shaft 29 which, in turn, is mounted in suitable bearings on the mast. A lowering cable 30 passes in loop form around a second rib 25 on the head or collar 21, and the ends of this cable pass downwardly and are connected with drums 31 mounted on the shaft 29. This shaft is rotated from a suitable crank 32, Fig. 3, through a shaft 33 and gearing 34, and the arrangement is such that by turning the crank in one direction the drums 28 and 31 will pay out and take up, as the case may be, to raise and lower the outer pipe 15 on the inner pipe 11 to bring the nozzle 23 to the proper point for use. It may be here noted that by having an inner pipe and an outer pipe with the raising or hoisting cables con nected With the outer pipe, a durable and effective construction is provided because the hoisting cables will not be subjected to undue strain, such as is present in one form of tower in which the inner and outer pipes are not employed, but simply a single pipe with a flexible hose connected with the lower end thereof, and in which case the hoisting rope has to sustain the entire weight of the pipe with the hose and the contained water. In the present construction, it will be observed that'by using an outer and an inner telescoping pipe construction, the pressure of the water itself tends to lift the outer described above, including the collars 1S and 19 with the interposed ball bearings 22. For'rotating the outer pipe it is provided With a series of ribs or splined bars 35 to engage grooves at 36 on the interior of a rotary head or sleeve 37 arranged to rotate in a head or bearing 38 fixed to the upper end of the mast and held in fixed relation by the stay rods 39, which are connected by brackets or arms 40, 41, with the middle and lower portions of the mast. Fixed onto the sleeve 37 is a gear wheel 42 with which meshes a gear wheel 43 fixed on a shaft 44, the lower end of which is operated through worm gearing shown generally at 45. It will thus be seen that by turning the shaft 44 by hand through the worm gearing 45 the sleeve 37 will be rotated and the outer pipe 15 will be turned on the inner pipe. By reason of the ball bearings, however, this rotation of the outer pipe will not materially affect the raising and lowering cables, or in other words, the sleeve 21 will not be materially disturbed. The gear wheel 42 is inclosed in a casing 46, this casingbeing held by brackets 47. In order to turn the nozzle on its pivot, I provide a cable or rope 48 connected directly thereto and a rope or cable 48 connected to an arm 49 pivoted to the pipe 15 and connected through segmental gears with the pivoted end of the nozzle 23, as shown at 50. The cables 48 and 48 pass around drums 51, 52,

carried by a shaft 53 suitably mounted on the mast and operated through a hand wheel 54. Both drums may be left free on their shaft 53 by unscrewing the collar 55, which normally presses the drums toward each other so that their clutch teeth 56 will engage. By loosening the nut 55, however, a

spring 57 will thrust the drums apart so that both may turn freely, and this is done before the outside pipe is raised so that both cables will be free to pay out from the drums as the outside pipe is raised. When the outside pipe has been raised to the proper point, the drums can be fixed to the shaft 53 by setting up the nut or collar 55, and then by turning the hand wheel 54 either of the ropes or cables 48 48 will be paid out while the other is taken up, so thatin this way the nozzle 23 may be turned on its pivot in eitherdirection. It willbe understood that the cables 48, 48', are arranged on their drums so that one will pay out while the other takes up.

I claim as my invention 1- 1. In combination a supply. pipe, a pivotally mounted mast, a pipe carried thereby and having a swivel connection at its lower end with its supply pipe, a nozzle, an outer pipe carrying said nozzle angularly adjustable thereon, said outer pipe telescoping with and turnable about its longitudinal axis on the inner pipe, means for turning the said outer pipe to change thenozzle to different positions, and means for raising and lowering said outer turnablepipe, said raising and lowering means having a swivel connection with the outer pipe, substantially as described. 7

2. In combination a mast, an inner pipe, a nozzle, an outer pipe carrying the nozzle adjustable angularly thereto and mounted to slide and rotate on the inner pipe, a hoisting and lowering collargon the outer pipe, hoisting and lowering cables connected to said collar, said outer pipe being turnable about its own longitudinal axis in relation to said-collar and to the inner pipe, means for operating the raising and lowering cables, and means for rotating the outer pipe on the inner pipe, substantially as described.

3. In combination with a'mast pivotally mounted, an inner pipe also pivotally mounted, an outer pipe mounted on the inner pipe to slide, and rotate about its own longitudinal axis, raising and lowering cables connected with the outer pipe andand a pair of drums mounted coaxially on the same shaft and receiving said cables to wind on one cable and pay out on the other with means for securing said drums to the shaft or allowing them to be free, and means for turning the shaft, substantially as described.

5. In combination with a mast, an inner conveyer pipe, an outer conveyor pipe slidable and rotatable about its own longitudinal axis on the'inner pipe, and having a nozzle connected therewith and angularly adjustable thereon, a collar swiveled on the outer pipe, a lowering cable of loop form having its loop portion engaging the collar, a raising cable of loop form having its loop portion engaging the collar, and its strands extending up therefrom, pulleys for direct ing the ends of the raising cable downwardly, and drums for receiving and winding the ends of the lowering cable and the ends of the raising cable, substantially as described.

6. In combination with a mast, an inner pipe, a nozzle, an outer pipe carrying the nozzle and slidable and rotatable on the inner pipe about its longitudinal axis, hoisting and lowering ropes, and a swivel connection between the said ropes and the outer pipe, and means for rotating the outer pipe, substantially as described.

LOUI$ H. GERDING.

Witnesses:

W. F. SHAFFNER, L. W. LAURENCE.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

